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Then he leaves, and my apartment feels too quiet after he is gone.Too small.Too exposed.I lock the door.Chain it.Check the windows.Check the bedroom latch and curse when I realize he’s right.It doesn’t close properly.

I stand there in my bedroom, staring at the useless lock, skin prickling.

Outside, an engine starts.Steel’s bike.It idles for a moment, then fades into the night.I tell myself I’m glad he’s gone, I tell myself men like him are the reason women like me end up patching holes in bodies, and I tell myself the strange hollow feeling in my chest is exhaustion.

Almost an hour later my phone buzzes with an unknown number.My pulse kicks as I open the message.

Unknown:The window gets fixed tomorrow.Sleep with the bedroom door locked tonight.

I stare at the screen.No signature because there’s no need for one, I know who it is.I should block him, but instead, I save his number.I should throw the phone across the room.I should absolutely not type back, but my thumbs move anyway.

Me:Stop giving orders.

Three dots appear, disappear, and appear again.

Steel:Stop making me worry.

My breath catches.I hate him.I hate the way those five words settle low in my chest, warm and dangerous.I type one word before I can think better of it.

Me:Gargoyle.

His reply comes almost instantly.

Steel:Paramedic.

I laugh.Just once.Small.Stupid.Real.Then something taps against my bedroom window.I freeze, and the phone slips in my hand.Another tap.Soft and deliberate.My blood turns to ice.For one endless second, I can’t move.The black card on my kitchen counter might as well be screaming.Not that I need it now that I have his number.

I grab my phone.This time, I don’t text.I call.

Chapter Four

Wrong Window

Steel

Harper calls at 3:17 AM.